The Massachusetts dad of three accused of killing his wife unexpectedly copped to getting rid of her body just as jury selection in his murder case began Tuesday.
Brian Walshe, 50, admitted to two of the three counts he faces, including misleading police and disposing of a body.
But he plans to defend himself against accusations he killed Ana — with whom he shared three kids — at his upcoming Dec. 1 trial.
Brian Walshe pleaded guilty to getting rid of his wife’s body but maintains he didn’t kill her. Boston 25 News
“Did you in fact willfully mislead various law enforcement … with intent to impede or interfere with the investigation into Ana Walshe’s disappearance?” Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere asked.
“Yes, your honor,” Walshe responded.
“Did you in fact willfully remove … the body of Ana Walshe?” Freniere asked.
“Yes, your honor,” Walshe answered.
The real estate executive’s lawyer, Kelli Porges, specified that Walshe was “not admitting” to the most serious charge of slaying Ana.
Walshe will still face trial next month for wife Ana’s murder. Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The unusual partial guilty plea took place just before a pool of potential jurors were brought in to begin jury selection Tuesday, according to a report by Boston25 News.
Prosecutor Gregory Connor told Freniere that Walshe’s misstatements to the cops, claiming Ana had taken an emergency trip to DC, led law enforcement to launch a full-blown search for her in the nation’s capital and a separate search for her in their hometown of Cohasset — and ultimately meant investigators lost the chance to ever recover her body.
Connor said Walshe put her body parts in dumpsters, which resulted in the remains being incinerated as part of waste disposal — a fact that Walshe admitted to Tuesday.
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Prosecutors have said Walshe was caught on video buying a haul of cleaning supplies and tools from Home Depot, which he used to dismember the body before dumping it.
And investigators allegedly uncovered a hacksaw with a fragment of bone on it in a dumpster by Walshe’s mom’s home.
Walshe and Ana shared three kids together. Instagram / Ana Walshe
They also claim he used his son’s iPad to research on Google how to get rid of a body.
The partial guilty plea leaves glaring questions about how Ana’s death unfolded around New Year’s Day 2023. She was last seen that day.
Normally, defendants are allowed to plead guilty to certain charges, rather than all of them, as part of a plea deal that closes out their entire case. But prosecutors in this case refused any deal that didn’t include Walshe admitting to murder, WCVB ABC5 reported.
Prosecutors have suggested that Walshe was motivated to kill his wife because he thought she was cheating on him, and he’d gone so far as to hire a private investigator to follow her. And their marriage had been strained after he was placed on house arrest for allegedly hawking fake Andy Warhol artworks.